"And they put in a parking lot"

"What a beautiful campus!" That's the first comment all visitors make when they arrive at UEM, Villaviciosa. There's a lake full of fish and a bridge to cross between 2 of the buildings. The landscape architect did a great job with the lawns and shrubs, trees and open spaces. Public buses stop outside the gate. There are occasionally chartered buses, but that's rare, and there is no traffic except for Graduation Day. Even the terraced tree-lined parking lots are part of the campus charm. Lately however more and more people are driving to campus and there just aren't enough parking spaces.

Solution:

You may have noticed that the empty lower field is being bulldozed today. It's going to become a much needed parking lot. And those piles of good soil which have also appeared must mean that there will be trees or plants around the edges. We need this parking lot, but I'm a little sad.

We used to organize baseball games out there. We had easy access and the field was great, even after it rained, except for an occasional rabbit hole. Yes, the bunnies you see in the early mornings lived under that field. Now they've moved further down the hill just as our baseball games have moved up to the sports field. Everyone is happy. There's no reason for protest as there was over "People's Park" at UC Berkeley, California in 1969. UEM is doing it right!

I love to teach and I love to learn. Over the years I've created hundreds of fun activities that make learning easy. We tried them out over and over again in the hallways, in the garden, in the street and yes, even in the classroom. Many are posted on this blog, "Shakespeare slept here." Many of you may have participated in them. I've always been both a teacher and a student in San Francisco, in Mexico and in Madrid. I was an English teacher at UEM for 18+ years. Now I'm happily retired and on to the next adventure.